New Innovations in Circulatory Support With Ventricular Assist Device and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Therapy:

ECMO as a rescue therapy for cardiogenic shock and a bridge to LVAD

This article describes a patient who presented with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction that quickly developed into acute cardiogenic shock refractory to conventional medical therapy. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was used to manage the patient's heart failure and bridge to a long-term left ventricular assist device.

Anesthetic management of the patient with a ventricular assist device

The use of long- and short-term mechanical circulatory support in the form of ventricular assist device (VAD) has increased over the last decade. Although cardiothoracic anesthesiologists care for these patients during device placement, increasingly higher numbers of general anesthesiologists are involved in the management of VAD patients during noncardiac surgery and procedures. An understanding of devices, their indications, and complications is essential to the anesthesiologists caring for these patients. We review the anesthetic considerations for the implantation of these devices and concerns when caring for patients with durable and short-term devices already in place.